Water clarifier for automobiles



Feb. 27 1940. A. G. BUSH 2,191,440

WATER CLARIFIER FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed July 29. 1937 MW 7 MW ATTORNEYS.

Patented Feb. 27, 1940 PATENT OFFICE l WATER ommms For, AuroMoB ILnsArthur Gr Busli, Davenport, Iowa Application July 2951937, Serial No;156,364 Claims, (01. 210-165);

Myinvention relates toa new and useful improvement for water clarifiersfor automobiles. The objects of my invention are to provide a small,compact, easily manufactured clarifier to be mounted in the coolingsystemof a'watercooledautomobile which will not only separate 1 out alarge portion of the sedimentary material heavier than water, but willalso separate out the oily, foamy sludge and other lighter than water 10materials which accumulate in the circulating system; and will providemeans for drawing into the radiator the vapors arising from the water,

alcohol, etc., used in the cooling system so as to condense and save thealcohol, etc. ll I accomplish these objects by the means illustrated inthe accompanying drawing, in Which- Figure l is a rear elevation of my.apparatusattached to the rear wall of the upper water chamber of aradiator, but with a part of the rear plate of the clarifler broken awayto show the interior construction. a

. Figure 2 is a similarrear elevation of an alternate form of my device,withlthe rear plate broken awayto show the interior. I

2 Figure 3 is a sectional'elevation on the line 3'-3 of Figurel.

My apparatus comprises a rectangular housing l,'which comprises the top,bottom and right and left side walls of the body ofrny clarifier. The

. housing I is provided with a flange la at its front edge, which isattached by welding or other suitable means, to the rearwall 2 of theupper chamber or partof the radiator ofv the automobile, the top ofwhichappears in Figure 1 as 3;

The rear edge of the housing i is likewise pro vided with a similarflange lb, which extends all around the housing and to which the rearplate 4 is attached by bolts 5, or other suitable means,

which render it readily detachable from the 40 flange lb;

The left side plate of the housing I is formed with an annular flangeSprotruding to the left thereof as shown in Figure 1,.to which the hose1 may be connected, the other end of the hosev l forming a part of thewater line from the pump or, from the engine block, as the' case may beto the radiator; 7

The right side plate of the housing I has an elliptical opening 8 formedtherein around which a waste pipe 9 is secured by welding, brazing, or

. radiator chamber as the pump draws the Wat-e1 cannot be removed byflushing. the radiator must be unsoldered and the tubes A rubber hose Hmay be attached to the lower end of the waste pipe 9, to conduct thesludge,

sediment and water when drained off, to any desired position below theengine and prevent soil- .ing and wetting theengine when the clarifieris 5" Upon theinner face of the rear plate 4 I attach a cylinder [3which is provided with flanges l3 united to the wall 4 by welding,soldering or other suitable means. 1 I0 The inner end of the cylinder I3is formed to fit snugly upon an annular'flange l5, which is pressedoutwardly from the rear wall Zof the radiator. The flange l5ispreferably formed in the shape of a short cone frustum so asto fitsnugly within the opening end of the cylinder !3,

and to leave anopening I6 in the rear wall of the upper chamber of theradiator 'so that the water may pass'freely from the cylinder i3 intoaction of the pump in the circulating system, will normally aid indrawing such vapors into the out of the bottomof the radiator. I 3013 Inthe case of excess steam accumulating in the radiator, the opening I!will I also permit such steam to pass into the clarifier and out to theatmosphere through the pipe 9, thus avoiding the blowing of steam andsludge out around 35*. the radiator cap. M i v I -It is well known amongautomobile drivers that at times the oil from around the bearing of thepump shaft or from other sources, works into the water circulationinthe' cooling system. When 40:

' this occurs, the oil readilypicksup particles of rust from inside theengine, block; also particles of lime in the radiator, or other sedimentthat may be'in the water, and forms a'sort of emulsion or sludge.

' This sludge becomes thick enough to clog up the radiator tubes andsmaller water passages, and greatly impairs thecooling capacity of a 1radiator; It'is not easily soluble. Itirequently In many cases, 50.

or water passages scraped out with steel rods ;or other scraper. Untilthuscleaned out, the radiator will heatlan'd often thesteam escapingfrom. around the radiator-cap will carryoily sludge metal apron I9provided with a plurality of small holes or bores it, which will permitwater to pass through them but are too small to permit the passage ofthe oily sludge.

The apron 59 may be formed with a flange l9", by which it may be unitedto the rear plate 4 by welding or other suitable means.

The remainder of the cylinder Ell is made of fine screen wire, fibre,cloth. or other suitable material having a line enough. mesh to preventthe passage 01 sediment, particles of lime, rust, etc., but open enoughand having sumcient size and capacity to permit the flow of the water going from the pump to the upper radiator cham ber.

The radiator may be provided with the usual cap, 26, for filling it. Thefilling cap may be mounted upon the body of the clarifier if desired, orin any other desired part of the water circulating system instead ofupon the radiator and will perform the same function.

An overflow pipe 22 may be mounted in the throat or neck of the radiatorunder the filling cap, if desired, but with my apparatus, this is notnecessary as the pipe 9 will act as ail-over flow pipe.

Figure 2 shows an alternate form of my device in which the apron liia ismounted above the cylinder id, as by the flange it", it extendsdownwardly to the left of the cylinder 53 to about the middle lineof thecylinder. When a separate apron i911 is used, the entire cylinder is maybe formed of wire, gauze or. other suitable screening, as the apron soformed will keep the sludge away from the cylinder and prevent thescreen being clogged up by it.

In the operation of my apparatus, the water is forced by the pump fromthe engine block into the pipe i, from which it passes into thehousingI, theinner part of which might conveniently be considered as forming anupper or sludge chamber l4 and a lower or sediment chamber 22. As theWater passes through the .pipe I the oily sludge, being lighter than theAs the water passes into the clarifler, the" sludge will accordinglypass upwardlyinto the sludge chamber Hi, sliding along the apron untilit reaches the aperture flin'theright side walland passes down into thedrain pipe 9, being separated from the water by the apron I 9 and thesmall openings l9which permit the water to pass through the apron, butprevent the passage of the sludge.

The sediment bearing portion of the water will pass downwardly intothesediment chamber [2, as most of the water will pass in thatdirection. From the sediment chamber I2 the water will pass through thescreen 20, which will screen out the sediment, and into the cylinder l3,and.

The entire circuit is closed except for the aperture 8 opening into thesludge pipe 9 and the overflow pipe 22, if an overflow pipe is used.

It will thus be seen that my apparatus carries out four functionssimultaneously. It strains out the sediment and collects it in a chamberfrom which it can be removed by opening the cook l. It carries thesludge away from and out of the circulating system so that it cannot getinto the radiator and it provides means for drawing off the vaporizedalcohol, water, etc., so as to prevent waste thereof. It also providesan outlet .in case the radiator is overflowed.

have shown the rear plate 4 secured to the rear flange lb of ,thehousing I by small bolts 5, with a rubber gasket 5 inserted between the'plate. 4 and the flange II), but I do not limit my claims to thisparticular form of fastening, for it is obvious that any suitable formof fastening may be used which will be secure against leakage, andfastenings may be utilized which will permit a much speedier removal ofthe plate 6 than the bolts.

The form of my apparatus, with the rear plate A removable, makes itpossible to easily and readily take out the cylinder l3 and apron l9 forcleaning, as well as for the purpose of cleaning out any sediment whichmay accumulate in the sediment chamber I2. However, with this form ofapparatus, it will seldom be necessary to remove the plate 1,, becausethe pipe I0 is preferably made large enough to freely drain off thesediment from the sediment chamber l2, and the aperture 8 is made largeenough to readily carry ofl'the sludge which may accumu late in thesludge chamber M.

The opening or aperture I1 is preferably placed above the level of thebottom of the aperture 8.

sothat the water system; may be flushed out and the sludgecarried outthrough the drain pipe 9 without passing into the radiator chamberthrough the opening I1.

It is common practice in connection with the cooling system for internalcombustion engines, to provide radiators which comprise upper and lowerchambers united by a large number of small tubes or conduits of variousshapes and designs. m

In the manufacture of my invention, I prefer to mount my housingapproximately at the level of the upper radiator chamber so that thewater passing through the screen and the vapors passing through thevapor opening, will enter directly into the upper chamber of theradiator and it is obvious that my clarifying chamber'may bemadeintegral with the upper radiator chamber without departing from thespirit of my invention.

It is likewise obvious that my clarifier may be inserted in the conduitwhich passes from the lower chamber of the radiator to the pump or tothe engine block if desired, and in such cases a bend may be formed inthe sludge pipe the top of. which will be at the normal upper waterlevel of the system, but I prefer to mount it in the conduit leadingfrom the engine block to the radiator, because in that position, it willtend to separate light particles of rust, lime, oily sludge, etc.,coming from the radiator block, before it passes into the radiator andthus pre vent it from getting into the tubes or small conduitsconnecting the upper and lower chambers of the radiator.

In the claims I usetheterm water to in- It separates the sludge from thewater.

leading to the overflow outlet, and means comclude either water, watermixed with alcohol,

glycerine or other substances, or other cooling fluids, including thosedesigned to prevent freeze ing or to improve the heat conductivity ofthe 1. In a cooling system for internal combustion. engines, thecombination with a radiator suit ably connected'to the engine block, ofa nous-.

ing united to the radiator wall near the top thereof and in circuit withthe radiator and engine block, said housing forming a chamber the lowerportion of which, 'by'gravimetric separation, can receive and retain theheavier'rnaterials contained in the cooling liquid and the upper portionof which can receive the vapors rising from the heated liquid and thefoam, oily sludge and other buoyant substances and an opening from theupper part of the housing into the upper part of the radiator and saidhousing being provided with an overflow outlet at the height of thedesired liquid level, means mounted within the housing for skimming thefoam, oily sludge and other lightermaterials from the fluid, comprisingan oblique plate having its lower edge extending intothe incoming streamof liquid and its upper end adjacent and prising a cylindrical screenextending at right angles to the incoming stream of cooling fluid forseparating the heavier substances from the fluid.

2. In a cooling system for internal combustion engines, the combinationwith a radiator suit- I ably connected to the engine block, of a housingunited to the radiator wall near the top thereof and in circuit with theradiator and engine block, said housing forminga chamberthe lowerportion of. which, by gravimetric separation, can receive. and retainthe heavier materials Icontained in the cooling liquidand the 'upperportion ofwhich can receive the foam, oily sludge and other buoyantsubstances, and being provided with an overflow outlet at the height ofthe desired liquid level, means mounted within the housing for skimmingthe foam, oily sludgeand other lighter materials from the fluid,comprising an oblique plate having, its lower edgeextending into theincoming stream of liquid and itsupper end adjacent-and leading to theoverflow outlet, and means comprising afcylindrical .screenextending atright angles to the incoming stream of cooling fluid for separating theheavier substances from the fluid.

3. In a cooling system for internal combustion letfor discharge.

thereof andin circuit with the radiator and engine block, said housingforming a. chamber the lower portion of which can receive and retain theheavier'materials contained in such'fluid and the upper portion of whichcan receive the foam, oily sludge and other lighter substances,

and being provided with an overflow outlet at the top of thenormal-water level, and means within thehousing for skimming the foam,oily 4. In a circulating cooling system for internal combustion enginesemploying a radiator, a skimming chamber through whichthe cooling liquidY is conducted in circuit with the engine block and radiator, a wasteoutlet in the skimming chamber approximately at the normal filled liquidlevel of the system, an oblique skimming plate mounted in the skimmingchamber withitslower edge extending into the incoming current of liquidand its upper edge adjacent the waste outlet to skim the foam, oilysludge andother lighter materials from the liquid and conduct it to thewaste out- 5. The combination with a chamber mounted in series in aradiator cooling system for as engines, having a port for sludge andoverflow, of

a port leading to the upper portion of the radiator above the normalwater level adapted to permit. alcoholic or other vapors to pass fromthe chamber into the radiator. t

6. Thefcombination with a chambermounted the radiator above the normalwater level adapted to permit alcoholic or other vapors topass from thechamber into the radiator.

'7. 'A" cooling system for internal combustion engines as described inclaim 4, and having a vapor outlet from the upper portion of theskimmingchamber into the upper portion of the radiator at or abovethe'normal water level.

8. A cooling system for internal combustion engines as described inclaim 4, in combination with a conduit to conduct vapors from the upperpartofthe skimming chamber to thei upper part of the radiator. k g v i 9A cooling system for internal combustion engines as described in claim4, having a transverse screen mounted in the skimming chamber below theskimmer plate to separate the heavier waste matters from the circulatingfluid.

10. A cooling system for internal combustion engines as described inclaims, in combination with a transverse screen mounted in the skim--ming chamber below the skimmer plate to separate the heavier wastematters from the circulatmg fluidp v I ARTHUR G. BUSH,

